The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language [B0125]

2007 PB. In this classic, the world's expert on language and mind lucidly explains everything you always wanted to know about language: how it works, how children learn it, how it changes, how the brain computes it, and how it evolved. With deft use of examples of humor and wordplay, Steven Pinker weaves our vast knowledge of language into a compelling story: language is a human instinct, wired into our brains by evolution. The Language Instinct received the William James Book Prize from the American Psychological Association and the Public Interest Award from the Linguistics Society of America. This edition includes an update on advances in the science of language since The Language Instinct was first published.

From recent Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "What a fascinating book! Dense, yes, like reading a textbook, but full of new (to me) insights into language and thought."; "A great textbook for anyone who wants to know about how language works, and how it is acquired. One of the most important books for any aspiring teachers, or even future parents. If you deal with kids, you need to know stuff expounded in this book."; "For people who picked this book up with just a passing interest in languages, you are in for a ride! Please don't stop at the technical section (the one with flowcharts and diagrams!) because the book gets back to being interesting later."